Sorry for the delay, but here is a little (?) description of a bike trip in
the northwestern corner of Russia in 1992, from the Norwegian Border to the
mining town Nikel.

Living in the Soviet Union for all my 30 years, I thought I would comment
on this. Well, to be honest, I live in Kiev, nowadays the capital of
Ukraine, but Russia and Ukraine are similar enough to justify
my posting.

Ulf wrote:

It was a very exciting trip - a short bicycle trip (45 km) from one world
to another !

Glad you've liked it ;).

Ulf wrote:

Our luggage was not checked at all. They checked all luggage of motorists
and bus passengers. The Russians thought really we were poor people using
bikes, not cars. One of the KGB border officers smiled and said something
like: NARVEZHKA (norwegians) VOLVO - MERCEDES - NJET VELOCIPED...

Although biking is quite common in exSU and is considered normal
for adults, seeing cycling foreigners is not an everyday experience
even in large cities ;).

Ulf wrote:

Russian motorists were careful. They passed us slowly and allowed plenty of
space. Some of them made a "honk" of the friendly type - not the stressed
unfriendly variety. The only car which passed us very fast and with little
space had Norwegian number plates.....

It is a normal (common) behavior of our drivers - I'm cycling
(non-professionally) for 15 years and have had no accidents because
of drivers.

Ulf wrote:

Nikel is one of the most polluted areas in the world. Grey and brown smoke
from 5-7 very high chimneys. In the city of Nikel (pop. 40.000) there was
no greeen grass. The ground was black. Poor bare-footed children begged for
money or would sell everything. A quite another world. We could see the

Well, this is typical of the so-called "town-factories", that is,
towns built only to serve large factories. What you get as a result
is that the destiny of the factory determines the destiny of the town.
On the other hand (and grimly enough) begging starts to be a profession
now. On my way to work I pass the high-quality hotel and constantly
see a women with husband and several children begging money from
foreigners. I also often meet them in the nearby bar, drinking coffee for
$0.25 per cup and some alcoholic drinks which are twice as expensive.

Ulf wrote:

toilets. Guess why ! What a night ! Sleeping at the black- and white
chess-pattern stone floor, with 2 Norwegian newspapers as bed, and
un-opened sleeping bags as pillows.

Was not there a hotel in the town? Or have you not looked for one? ;)

Ulf wrote:

No other passengers - no railway staff. No food available in Nikel, unless
2 kilos of big tomatoes - and some boxes of Maryland Cookies bought in
Norway. To drink: Russian mineral water on big green bottles without
labels. And our last 2 bottles of Coke. What a dinner and supper ! We were
not hungry after that meals.

Shops are usually closed at 19:00-20:00 and the market even earlier ;)

Ulf wrote:

that the bikes were fastened to the wall with elastic strops. In addition
the car attendant lady should have a fee NOK 50,00 (USD 7) for the
inconvenience. No receipt - the money were "black" as we say in Norway.
Officially granted corruption ! It is theoretically possible to send bikes

Why? Had you tried to get a receipt or to ask for some official rules?

Ulf wrote:

each ( USD 4). The same to lunch. We also god some Vodka. The 196 km trip
takes 8 and a half hour through rather desolate areas. Many stops in the

You should have travelled by the so-called "passenger train" which
really stops on every occasion. "Fast trains" are going much
quicker, but I guess there were no such trains between Murmansk
and Nikel as the traffic there is not particularly intense.

Ulf wrote:

wilderness outside stations for hunters and others. There were NO
RESTRICTIONS for train photograping in 1992.

So "perestrojka" was not completely in vain ;)

Ulf wrote:

After one day in Murmansk we went by train to St.Petersburg (28 hours -
1445 km) with the same arrangement with bikes in the aisle. We also had

And that should have been the "fast train".

Ulf wrote:

A very fascinating train trip thru very desolatew areas with small
villages. Some of them not connected to the highway network. The only mode

And some not connected to the electrical network, I guess ;)

Ulf wrote:

of tranport is by rail. We had a 4-bed sleeping compartment ("Hard class").
The conductor said to us in quite good English "If we pay 100 Norwegian
Kroner (about USD 15) we would have the compartment alone. With no
hesitation a 100 kr-bank note changed its owner. The conductor smiled

This is much cheaper then if you had payed for tickets. Especially
because you (as foreigners) should have officially payed much more
then me, for example. But such tricks of conductors are normal
here (regretfully) and "black market of tickets" is quite strong.

Ulf wrote:

The russians had not seen offroad bikes before. Many people stopped us in

What?! Sorry, but they had used them for many years, although
_mountain_ bikes were not (and are not) widespread. May be you know
that roads in Russia are one of it's traditional problems, so
biking can often be qualified as off-road ;)

Ulf wrote:

the streets and wondering asked (some in English). They touched the tyres
and said something like "MAPED" (Moped - "MC light").

Yes, as I've said above, mountain bikes are not popular here (yet?).
Basically, there are three varieties of bicycles in use
(not counting children and proffessional sportsmen).

"A road bicycle". Typically with no gearing (gear-inches at
about 75). VERY durable and survives really bad treatment.
Frames and rims are made of durable steel. Drilling a hole in the
frame with electric drill takes several hours ;). Tyres are
~40 mm wide which is enough for cycling sandy roads. Weight is
about 18-20 kg (yes, it's very heavy when you take it to the 4th floor ;)
Commonly used in the country and for off-road cycling.

"A tourist bicycle". Typically with 4-5 gears (gear-inches at
60-100). Easily modifiable to 10 gears. Also durable with steel frame
and rims. Tires are narrower (mine has 32mm tyres). Weight is about
12-15 kg. Commonly used in cities but also suitable for off-road tours.

"A sport bicycle". Typically with 10 gears (gear-inches at 45-100).
Has aluminium rims and aluminium or steel frame. Unlike the previous
two, originally has "single-layered" tyres (instead of "two-layered",
that is camera and the tyre proper - sorry, I don't know the English term).
Weight is below 10 kg. Commonly used in cities and on good roads.

So, it were wide tyres (and may be complicated shifters) which
have attracted attention to your bikes.